A wide variety of machines utilize tracks as ground-engaging propulsion elements. It is common for such tracks to include a plurality of rotatable track engaging elements, with the track forming an endless loop moved about the rotating elements during operation. Such tracks typically include two chains of coupled together links, with bolted-on track shoes. The demands placed upon such machines and their associated track assemblies can be quite substantial, and the operating environments harsh. Machine tracks are often robust to provide a long operating life of thousands of hours despite significant mechanical stresses, strain and wear experienced during operation.
The wear phenomena experienced by machine track are typically a result of how the machine is used, the experience of the operator, and both the underfoot conditions and substrate materials in the operating environment. Field service life of machine track can vary based upon these factors from a few thousand hours to many thousands of hours. Since machine track components can be relatively costly, and servicing adds expense and machine down-time, engineers have long sought strategies for reducing and managing wear between and among the components.
One example of such a strategy is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,855 to Massieon et al. Massieon et al. disclose a track-type machine having track links with contact surfaces of high wear-resistant material engaging track rollers. The high wear-resistant material may be a composite alloy metallurgically bonded into a groove in the contact surface. While Massieon et al. appear to have developed a successful strategy, there is always room for improvement, and in particular with regard to the economics of material selection and manufacturability.